Shopping for Success
by fanheartfiction
Summary: Hey everyone! It's another Ultimate Spiderman fanfics, however, this one is about Ava and Sam. Don't worry, I don't ship them. Ava has to get ready to give a huge presentation and she's panicking, (Big time). Sam helps her out and makes sure her presentation is a success. It's humorous with slight amounts of fluff. Hope you like it!
1. Shopping for Success pt 1

Sam and Danny were sitting on the couch, watching in amusement as their teammate darted back and forth wildly across the living room. Ava had to give a presentation in front of the B.A.D.L.D. (Board of Animal Defense Leagues Directors) in order to receive funding for her 'Kittens for Kare' program. Because of this, she had more energy than usual, (if that was possible) and had been zipping from corner to corner picking up and dropping things in an order that made sense to only her. Danny estimated that she had been moving non-stop for about since somewhere around five a.m. It was now 6:30. After only thirty minutes of watching her flit around the house in what seemed like circles, everyone felt like they were going to go insane.

Peter had been the first to crack, claiming he needed some personal space, and left to go see Harry. Aunt May had been second. After trying to offer Ava some help and receiving a complete emotional breakdown in return, Aunt May had grabbed a pair of roller skates and said she needed some fresh air. She commenced to walk out the door with a vaguely panicked look on her face. Luke secretly thought she should have been used to this, having brought up Peter. He and Sam shared a look revealing that they were thinking the same exact thing.

Luke had been the third to leave declaring that Ava was making him dizzy. His head was spinning as fast as Ava was. He was gone so fast Danny almost doubted he had been there in the first place. Danny tried to stay, honestly he did, but he was the next to disappear stealing his way out the door as quietly as, well… a ninja. After having tried unsuccessfully to calm her down, he gave up, feeling incredibly overwhelmed. Her fanatical energy was messing with his chi.

Eventually only Sam was left, sitting calmly on the vacated couch. With no one to talk to, he had returned to playing a game on his phone. Ava was now pacing back and forth reciting lines to herself over and over again.  
"Environmental pollution or ecological disorder is now a global phenomenon with regional variations in its nature and extent. This is causing animals to lose their homes because of our selfishness. No, that sounds as if I'm assuming they don't know what I'm talking about." She sat and raked her fingernails through the carpet, a feeling that always calmed her.  
"What about, the contamination of the environment is also being linked to some of the diseases that are around currently, this can cause the diseases to be transferred to animals. No, they'd doubt that." She exhaled heavily and gathered her hair into a pony tail just to pull it out a few seconds later.

Sam stood quietly and tiptoed around her, so as not to disturb her thoughts. When he reached the kitchen he, instinctually, took out the coffee maker. After a second of thought he put it back deciding that Ava did _not_ need to add caffeination to her current state. Instead he took out some Swiss Miss ™ and made hot chocolate, taking care to add extra milk. When it was done, he poured it into two mugs and carried it to the table. "Hey crazy cat-lady, I made some cocoa- want some?"

Ava waved her hand absently. "I don't have time! I have to study this." Sam frowned, then tried a different tactic.  
"I made it just the way you like it; a 2:1 ratio of milk to chocolate with twelve marshmallows." He coaxed.  
Ava paused. "With cinnamon?"  
Sam grinned. "And nutmeg!" She looked at her papers regretfully.  
"Well… I guess a small break wouldn't hurt, and I am thirsty." She walked over to the table, and grabbed one of the mugs. She took a sip and sighed, visibly relaxing. "Thanks Sam, you're the bes-" She stopped remembering that she had a reputation to maintain. "I mean. Thanks, that was really kind of you."  
Sam shrugged off the compliment. "You were driving me crazy, I had to set a cat trap." Ava whacked him on the head with a pen.

"Watch it brain-boy, you're not in my good graces yet." While she was sipping her drink, Sam walked around and collected and reorganized her notes. He plunked the documents on the table and then plopped into his seat.  
"Now, what's your problem?" She set down her cup. "I can't make my paper sound right. Either it sounds too informational, or too demanding." Sam sat back and put his feet on the table.  
"Read it to me."  
With a skeptical glance, Ava picked up her stack of papers and began to present her project for him. For the next hour Sam helped her tweak and rewrite sentences, proving to be exceptionally helpful. "Wow Sam! I didn't know you were that good at English." Sam laughed.  
"I'm good at English, it's math I struggle with." Ava nodded in appreciation. "It _is_ a difficult subject." Sam agreed.  
"So what now? We finished your report and your power point."  
Ava thought. "What time is it?"

Sam checked his phone. "It's 8:00 a.m."  
Ava smiled with relief. "Okay, that's good, my presentation starts at 5:00 _p.m._ I guess I have some time to chill." Sam puckered his brow.  
"Do you have any idea, like, what you're gonna wear?"  
Ava shook her head. "I figured I'd just wear a dress or something."  
Sam raised an eyebrow. "Can I see?" Ava consented and led him to the guest bedroom she presently occupied. She marched inside and threw open her closet. "Here it is."

Sam's mouth gaped, appalled. The dress was ridiculously frilly yellow, with a huge flower in the center. It was covered in huge white polka dots and, to make things worse, it had baby blue shoulder ruffles. Sam was horrified. "You can't wear that to an interview. They'd never take you seriously."  
Ava glared at him. "What's wrong with it, I've had it since I was thirteen."

Sam face palmed. "Exactly!" He exclaimed. "You've had it since you were thirteen. Hello! Four years ago. Do you have _anything_ else? Do you even own a pair of stockings at least?"  
Ava sniffed. "No, I don't. I'm not big on dresses, you always have to worry about Marilyn Monroe-ing and flashing people. And no, who even wears stockings? I like to wear those tunics you always see me in- _because that's what I wear._ " Sam smothered a laugh.  
"Come on, we need to find you something to wear." Ava snorted, displeased.  
"And exactly _where_ are we going to find it?" Sam stuck out his tongue. "Give me a minute." And dashed off. Ava sat on her bed feeling petulant. "One, two, three, four…"

When Sam came back, he was carrying a neatly organized list with scribbles dominating the page. Ava looked over his shoulder letting her curiosity getting the best of her. "What is that?" Sam waved it in the air triumphantly. "It's the list of all the places you're going to go shopping, and I'm coming with you. Luckily they're all in one place, Manhattan Mall." Ava grabbed her car keys. "If someone had told me I'd be going shopping with you a month ago, I would have told them they were crazy." Sam smirked. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

During the car ride Sam muttered to himself occasionally crossing out and rewriting things on his slip of paper. When they got out, Sam insisted they start at Nordstrom's. "They've got everything you'll need." So they went inside and browsed the racks. Ava didn't spend long, but picked out three nice looking pairs of slacks and a blouse. "Okay Sam, I'm gonna try this on and we can go." Sam crooked his fingers in a 'come here' motion. She obligingly handed them over. He looked them over with a critical eye before handing back the three pairs of pants.

She folded her arms indignantly. "What's wrong with those?" Sam rubbed the material between his fingers. "Nothing, if you're a hippie who likes mom jeans." He put them in them back on the rack. "Now look at what I found." Ava grudgingly admired the clothing. There was a pale pink and white blouse, a black camisole, two pairs of stockings, and a suit jacket. "Go try them on!" He insisted pushing them into her arms.

When they got to the dressing room, a bored looking assistant put up her hand. "Sorry, no men allowed in the dressing room. Feel free to wait here."  
Sam pulled up his specialty puppy dog eyes. "This is a total emergency; she needs me."  
The assistant softened. She swiveled her eyes from side to side. "Fine, but quickly." Sam flashed the sales assistant a dazzling smile and scooted his way inside.

"Overboard much?" Ava said rolling her eyes. Sam grabbed a few extra hangars. "It got me in, didn't it?" Ava had to agree. "Okay, you're right. I'm going to go try these on." She strode into the changing room and tried on the first piece, the black camisole. It fit nicely, but she didn't see why she would wear it to her presentation. She unlocked the door and stepped out. "What's the point of this?"

Now it was Sam who rolled his eyes. "You don't wear it by itself stupid, it goes under your blouse so that no one can see your bra lines." Her cheeks flushed. "Oh, sorry." Sam checked his watch. "It's fine, but hurry- we need to hit a lot of other places." Next she tried on the pale pink blouse, but for some reason didn't like it. She stepped out and pirouetted in front of Sam.

Sam observed the look on her face. "Yeah, I don't like it either. It makes you look washed out. With your skin tone, you need to wear bold colors." He thought briefly. "Try on the jacket and the stockings." She slumped back into the changing room. Doing her hair and painting her nails? A definite yes. Trying clothes on for hours on end- she'd take a pass. She pulled the stockings up over her legs and threw the suit jacket on over her t-shirt.

When she walked out Sam smiled and pressed his hands together. "I love it. How are the stockings?" She lifted her legs experimentally. "Uncomfortably warm." He nodded. "That's 'cause they're polyester, not silk or cotton. But I like the jacket." She nodded. "I do too, but it feels really loose around the middle." Sam glanced at her for a moment before coming to a decision. "Button the two bottom buttons and making the stockings a little looser around the toes." She obeyed, but then scrunched her face up in confusion. "Why?"

He tapped her side. "Easy! You've got an tomboy figure with slight curves, and you want to accent that by using a belt or middle button to cinch your waist. It makes your middle look skinnier, and your top and bottom fuller. Also, leaving more room in the toe area let's your toes and feet breathe, making your legs sweat less." "I don't even know why you know this stuff!" "There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me." He gave her a cocky grin.

Then he sobered. "Yikes, we've wasted 45 minutes. Grab the jacket, the cami, and the stockings; toss the rest." Shaking her head, she did as he asked. "Where are we going now?" "Ann Taylor's Loft." He replied tugging her through the crowded walk-ways. "They've got great blouses, and hopefully we can find you a nice pair of shoes." He walked into the store barely pausing to say hello to the sales lady. He was a man on a mission. "Okay, you go pick out shoes, and I'll get the tops."

Before she could say anything he was gone, moving with an oddly, practiced grace through the racks and shelves. Twenty minutes later he met up with her in the shoe aisle. "What'd you find?" She showed him her selections. There was a nice pair with a small heel that looked like a boot, there was a gold and black stiletto, there was gorgeous silver couple that wrapped around the ankle, and there was a beautiful shimmery black and gold pair with a four inch heel. "Have you walked in any of them?" "No, I probably should shouldn't I?" He examined the stiletto. "You may find that some shoes aren't so cute, after you have to walk in them for a while."

To her astonishment, she found he was right. She replaced the stiletto and the silver strappy pair back on the shelf. "I think I got a blister just from walking down the aisle." She was now stuck between the boot-like heel and the shimmery ones. Sam gently pried the boot pair out of her hands. "It's okay to show a little bit of foot cleavage." She chuckled at his terminology, and settled on the shimmery black and gold ones. He nodded his approval. "They're a nice color, but not so high it shouts 'look at me', and not so small it yells 'low confidence levels'," Once he showed her the blouses, they were able to agree on a pretty gold-colored blouse with black edges." Comfy, yet professional.

Sam was practically bouncing. "Awesome! All we have left are your pants and accessories." Ava grinned. She hated to admit it, but shopping with Sam was surprisingly fun. "Where to captain?" He scratched his head. "I'm not sure; I lost my paper. I think Macy's would be a safe bet though."

Once again, Sam's judgment proved to be spot on. She almost staggered to the dressing room, bogged down with so many pairs of slacks and skirts. She decided to start with the skirts. She tried on all kinds. Long skirts, short skirts, pencil skirts, flowy skirts, tight skirts- but none of them seemed to fit nicely. Frustrated she tried on the slacks, but ended up with the same problem. "Argh!" She groaned as she turned in front of Sam wearing a pair that was saggy on the bottom, but weirdly tight on the hips.

Sam motioned for her to spin one more time. His eyes lit up, hit by a sudden realization. He walked into her cubicle and sorted through the rest of the slacks until he held one up proudly. "I know your problem. You need to wear high rise pants, not hip huggers. The hip huggers make your legs look short and squat." She tried them on. "Hmm, much better." Sam threw a fleeting look at a clock on the wall. "We're making good time, but we still have to do hair and make-up. Plus, I want you to have some breathing time before you have to go." He snatched the pants from her and lobbed them into the bag. When they got to the register he slipped one of Ava's favorite treats (acai berry dark chocolate bites) into her bag as she was walking out. "Charge it to my card." He said pulling the cashier aside.

He ran to catch up with his friend. "Okay, last stop. We're gonna hit Forever 21. They don't have a lot of professional wear, but they do have great accessories. My friend used to make me go there with her all the time."  
Once inside, Ava was in awe. She ran her fingers through the neatly piled jewelry, marveling at the individual feel of each one. Sam looked around.  
"Your outfit is mainly gold and black, so you want to look for gold jewelry. Obviously gold and silver don't go together."

Together they were able to locate an elegant pair of golden hoop earrings and a charm for a necklace she already had at home. Once outside the store, he put all the bags into one, and headed to the food court.  
"What are you in the mood for?"  
Ava strolled passed the little food stands trying to decide. "How about Chinese?"  
Sam went up and got her usual order along with his. They had just started to eat (Ava with Kung-pow chicken, and Sam with orange chicken and noodles) when he cursed and dropped his chopsticks.  
"I just want to know what people were thinking when they made these." He mimicked a puppet. "Oh, out of all the choices we have for eating utensils, we're going to use two of the skinniest sticks possible to pick up these incredibly small grains of rice. Doesn't that seem like a good idea?"

Ava giggled into her napkin. "I think they used them because they were cheap and easy to find. It was for practical reasons. Then I guess it just stayed as a tradition." They continued to joke and laugh throughout the meal and on the car ride home. As she walked into the house, she stopped and turned to Sam. "I just wanted to say thanks." She cleared her throat. "For everything."


	2. Shopping for Success pt 2

Sam pulled her ponytail. "Ah, don't worry about it. You're my friend."

Ava flicked his ear. "Don't pull my pony, that hurts!"

Sam grinned. "I know. Now come on, I want to be done before two." She leaped up the stairs in two bounds, and headed for the bathroom. "So what're we going to do?"  
He opened up her drawer. "That depends. What do you have as far as hair and make-up goes?"  
Ava opened the drawer and peered inside.  
"In this drawer I've got some BB crème, mascara, eye liner, an eye shadow palate, and some foundation; and in my room I've got more stuff. My friend gave it to me as a going away present. I've hardly used any of it."

Sam tapped his foot impatiently. "And hair?"

She reflected for a moment. "I've got two brushes, three combs, a flat iron, a curling iron, bobby pins, some clips, and…" She rapped her fingers on the bathroom counter, "I've also got some hairspray and headbands, but that's about it." Sam nodded.  
"Sounds good. I'll get you a basket so you can bring everything downstairs." Ava gawked. "Why _everything_?

Sam sighed in annoyance. "Because I don't know what I'll need yet." He slid down the banister. "Call me if you need help carrying anything." Ava went to get her stuff, and put it in an old Easter basket Aunt May had given her for her stuff. She walked down the stairs, careful not to bump the walls.  
When she reached the bottom floor, Sam already had a chair sitting in front of the desk mirror. He seized the basket and proceeded to spread the hair items across the small table. The first thing he did was check everything for cleanliness. "I know you washed your hair yesterday, because you left hair in the drain."  
Ava glowered at him. "I forgot, and I cleaned it up."  
Sam held up his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm just saying you never want to use dirty tools in clean hair, but it looks like all your stuff is good to go." He then picked up all electrical instruments and plugged them in; turning them to a desired heat.  
He pulled the barrette out of her hair and picked up the brush. At first it hurt; she had lots of snarls and curls on the bottom, but eventually it became soothing. She closed her eyes, relaxing. Suddenly the stroking stopped, and her eyes flew open.  
Sam grunted. "I'd close my eyes again if I were you, I'm about to spray you."  
She snapped them shut once more as she felt a misting oil circle her head. This time when he brushed it, her locks felt smooth and silky. He set the brush on the counter and picked up a comb evenly parting her hair on each side. He was just about to pin the right side up, when he heard the doorknob rattle.  
"I wonder who that could be." He muttered abandoning Ava's hair and going to the door. When he opened it he was confronted with the very confused face of Danny Rand. "Sam, what are you doing?"  
"I'm helping Ava get ready for her presentation. Want to help?" He offered. Danny contemplated his proposal, then pushed to door open wide and walked through.  
"What do you need help with my friend?"  
Sam grinned. "I need you to curl her hair, like so." He demonstrated clipping one side up. "You wanna do it in sections, not all at once. Otherwise it looks tacky." He held up a piece of hair and combed through it. "Tilt your hand this way, so all the curls face the same way. I want them to frame her face."  
He fluffed the hair own the crown of her hair. "Spray this lightly to increase volume. Tell me when you're done." Sam turned to go back to Ava but then spun around again. "Don't hold it on her hair for too long, we don't want to burn it."

Danny laughed. "I did not know you had such talents." Sam stuck his tongue out and focused on Ava again.  
He put a finger under her chin and tilted it this way and that way beneath the lights. He held different bottles up against her face, before holding up a make-up stick that he liked. Using the stick like a giant marker, he drew thick lines down her cheekbones, the sides of her nose and above her brows; then blended it with his fingers.  
"That'll give you a sun-kissed look." He said talking to himself. He then held up a berry red blush. "Hmm. No, too bright." He picked up a champagne colored hue, and nodded with satisfaction. He applied it to the apples of her cheeks and used a large brush to rub it in.  
To get double the effect, he decided to dot the color onto the inner corners of her eyes. "Ava, look up for me." She did, and he began to dab and brush to his heart's content. "We want it to be subtle and professional, yet still eye popping."  
He raised an eye shadow near her temple. It was a deep, bronzy, cream color that was deliciously warm. He brushed it into her eye creases, and set the cream with a colorless, translucent (yet sparkly) powder. He patted some gold cream shadow onto the centers of her lids, and ran a little bit under her eyes to make them look even bigger. He took some bronzer and gently dusted her collar bones, giving her contour and shape.  
They were all so absorbed in their work, that no one noticed that Peter was standing right next to them. Sam jumped back almost getting shadow on his shirt. "Gah! Make some noise when you walk dude!" Peter looked almost as puzzled as Danny had.  
"What's going on?" He inquired. Then answering his own question he slapped himself on the forehead. "You're helping Ava get ready. Can I help?"  
Sam bit his lip. "There's not much else to do. Ava and I went over her essay earlier, but we'd both feel more comfortable if you spell checked it." Peter gave him a thumbs up and headed over to the table, stuffing his earphones in his ears as he went.  
Danny listened to Sam's mumbles with an amused patience, before he turned back to his own work with a scowl . Sam had made it look so easy- a twist there and a crimp here; but it was really quite difficult. Ava's hair kept getting wrapped around his fingers and her curls looked more like corkscrews. "Sam." He admitted. "I am having a rather difficult time over here." Sam looked up from his counter of creations.  
He watched Danny for a minute, trying to figure out what was wrong. "You need to make gentle waves, not corkscrew curls. Don't hold the iron so tight, it's not a weapon." Danny tried to loosen his grip, and found that it was much easier that way. "Thank you Sam."  
Sam barely acknowledged his thanks, but turned back to Ava with a renewed vigor.  
He then picked up an eye liner pencil and ran a light line across each eyelid. Ava was floored. His lines were perfectly straight; she could never manage to that. To her dismay, he started to smudge them upwards. "Sam!" She shrieked, almost causing Danny to drop his iron. "Why would you do that!"  
Sam wiped his fingers on a paper towel. "It adds intensity and depth because it blends into your darker eye shadow."  
"Oh."  
Sam treated her to a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, I'm almost done. All I have left is eyes and lips." Taking out a mascara wand, he pressed it as close as he could to her top lashes and pulled outward. The lashes automatically curled stiffly. He did it again, and then moved to the lower lashes, (two coats on each eye). "Perfect." He mumbled reaching for a lip balm.  
After swathing her lips in oil and lip balm, he patted them down with his finger towel. Ava frowned at him. "Why would you put that all on, just to take it off."  
Sam retrieved an amber lip stick from the basket. "I didn't take it off, I just blotted it so it wouldn't be oily." He abruptly dropped the lip gloss and went to the fridge.  
Danny smirked. "Did all that work make you hungry?"  
Sam rolled his eyes as he took an ice cube out of the freezer. "If you run a piece of ice over your lipstick before slicking on lip _gloss_ , it helps the color to last all day and prevent it from bleeding."  
Danny pursed his own lips. "I stand corrected."  
Sam rubbed it on Ava's lips. "Make a kissy face and rub your lips together." Ava puckered her lips and posed. Sam played along, making a pretend camera with his fingers. "Awesome. Turn. Smile. Shoulders back. Hunch. Pout. Great, great. Give me a sad face. Excellent. Freeze. Good. Give me another smile. Wonderful, wonderful."  
They both looked at each other for a second before falling apart with laughter.  
Danny smiled serenely; pleased at the growing strength of their relationship. They had been fighting for too long.  
At long last, everything was ready. Sam clapped his hands. "Cool, we're all done."

Ava stretched. "Thanks you guys." She touched her face. "I still look like me, don't I?" Sam helped her stand and Danny dipped his head. "We didn't need to change how you looked, we just enhanced it." Sam nodded his head in consent. "Yeah, the beauty was already there."  
Ava thought she was going to cry; sometimes they could be so sweet. "Thank you. Should I go change?"

Sam looked at the microwave clock. "Crap, it's 3:30. Yeah, you should." Ava left to go change, and Sam and Danny cleaned up the supplies and neatly arranged them in the basket. Peter seemed to be finished too. "All done!" He said taking out his earphones. "Ayala's ready to go."

Just then Luke walked in with his arms full of packages. He had obviously gone grocery shopping. Luke walked over to put the groceries on the counter, while trying to take everything in at once.  
"Where did Ava go?" He asked with a hint of worry. "Don't worry Luke. She's much better now." Sam assured him. "Do want help putting away the food away?" Luke grinned. "That'd be great!"  
They were all putting groceries away when they saw Ava come down the stairs. They all started. Ava had always been beautiful, but this girl? This girl looked like a goddess, powerful and unstoppable. Danny, after standing star-struck for a few moments, decided that the monks had been wrong. Beauty was power. She was flawless.

Ava's skin was clear and glowing with vitality, accentuated by a faint flush of rosy excitement in her cheeks. Her eyes were deep and mysterious, rimmed with dark, thick lashes; and her eyelids were shimmery and warm making a person want to look again every time she blinked. Her lips were full and pouty, yet regal and commanding at the same time. Her hair was curled in soft, lush, waves around her; emphasizing her narrow face and strong jaw.

Her new golden hoops hung delicately from her ears, and a necklace subtly highlighted her collar bones. She had also worn the black camisole under the comfortable gold blouse. Layered over that, was a black suit jacket. It was cinched in the middle with two buttons giving her usually tomboyish figure a curvy, hourglass shape. She had on the high rise slacks she and Sam had picked out earlier, making her legs look long and graceful. Underneath that, were a pair of glittery heels that sparkled as she walked.

Everyone gaped. You could have heard a pin drop. They gawked, at a loss for words. In fact, there were no other words for it. Ava Ayala was. Drop. Dead. Gorgeous.  
Ava frowned. "Why are you all staring at me?"  
Sam was the first to recover the ability to speak. "Ava, you look absolutely stunning."  
Ava's flush deepened. She would have felt awkward if anyone else had said that, but because it was Sam she took it as a compliment. "Thanks Sam, but I had a lot of help from you guys." The others were still staring.  
Luke reached up and touched Ava's face before turning to Sam. "How'd you do that man?"  
Sam's smile faded. "When you have a single mother and a little sister, you pick up some tricks."  
Danny tilted his head. "What do you mean?"  
Sam absently swiped a brush against his forearm.

"My dad was never really there for my mom, so every time she went out or went to work, she would ask me how she looked or how to fix her make-up. Eventually she explained to me how she did things, and I just remembered them."  
Luke and Danny looked abashed, as did everyone else. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to offend you." Sam punched his shoulder lightly.  
"No biggie. Now who wants to see Ava raise the roof on those political party poopers!  
Peter beamed. "Let's all go get dressed, so we can go see Ava perform." Still astounded by her transformation, the boys filed out of the room.  
Thirty minutes later, they were all at the convention center. Ava was standing backstage twisting her fingers nervously. She peaked out of the curtain; there had to be at least 20,000 people. She pulled her head back in, feeling queasy. Luke came to stand next to her.

"Listen Ava, you're the best speaker I know. You're gonna rock socks off of these knuckle-heads." Ava nodded. "What if I choke because I get so nervous?"  
Luke looked her in the eye. "You won't! Now get out there and show them what you can do!"

A few minutes later, once everyone had found their seats, the curtain opened announcing Ava Ayala to the stage. They listened carefully. Ava had prepared her speech well. It was captivating and funny, yet at the same time moving.  
She was doing just fine until she caught sight of the cameras. She panicked internally. _I'm on TV. Everyone's watching me._  
It was easy for her friends to tell she was about to lose it.

Sam ducked out of his row of seats and put on his helmet. Five seconds later he flew to the back of the auditorium and gave a thumbs up to Ava. _You can do it!_ He mouthed to her. She caught sight of him just before she was about to look into the mouth of a camera.  
She organized her papers and stood tall with renewed confidence and finished her speech with a bang. "And that's why Kittens for Kare is not only an opportunity for them, but an opportunity for us as a society to better ourselves and our communities. Thank you."  
And with that, she left the stage to a standing ovation. She noticed everyone was clapping, but no one was as clapping as hard as Sam. She grinned at the floating rocket head. He had believed in her all along.


End file.
